Jake Paul remains locked in a feud with Conor McGregor after his controversial fight with veteran Mike Tyson.
Paul won the Tyson fight by unanimous decision, but it was an ugly watch for most, with Tyson struggling to maintain his stamina, while Paul largely kept him at arms length, holding a huge reach advantage, as well as the obvious age advantage.
It remains to be seen what Paul will do next, and whether he can convince any serious boxers to fight him in his bid to become a respected professional boxer.
Paul has repeatedly called out Canelo Alvarez, and to no avail, while UFC superstar McGregor, who has previously tried his hand in boxing, has also been locked in a feud with the YouTube star.
In response to a fight request at 170lbs from McGregor, Paul has written on X: “Dear Conor, I know you told my team you would fight me at 170lbs (in boxing). That’s never happening. But let’s run it in MMA. No weight class. Just like how it used to be done. But you won’t.”
How can Paul and McGregor fight?
Paul has already penned terms with the Professional Fighters’ League (PFL), but he is yet to take part in an MMA fight.
Meanwhile, McGregor is still signed to UFC, so he would be unable to fight in the PFL, especially with UFC chief Dana White vehemently against crossover events involving YouTube stars turned boxers like Paul.
McGregor is a part-owner of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, so there could be an avenue there, though with only knuckle straps allowed instead of gloves, it would be a risky move for the ‘Problem Child’, with the ‘Notorious’ a more experienced fighter. Naturally, the risks could be greater in that variation of fighting, but perhaps only in the short-term.
Some studies have shown that bare knuckle boxing offers a much greater risk for surface injuries such as cuts and bruising, but there are suggestions it is less damaging when it comes to long-term head trauma compared to boxing. The heavy gloves used in boxing increase the level of force absorbed by the heads of fighters, and thus increases the potential for trauma and long-term issues.
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